... I don't hate it. It's intriguing, but I think Grant Morrison is getting really out of touch with today's writing style. He tries to be sarcastic and humorous like modern writers, but he can't write stuff from the perspective of younger eyes. Sort of sad.

But the story is pretty intriguing. Once again though, I have no idea what's going on. Won't 'til the end of the arc.

So, I don't know if anyone got Batman, Inc. Or Batman & Robin #'s 9,10 yet, but Gleason, Tomasi, and Morrison are slowly converting me to a full fledged Robin fan.
First of all, epic cliff hanger in Batman, inc. #1. Wowzers.
Secondly, that Talon story in B&R9 was the better of the 4 Nite of the Owl stories I read. But I will also say that issue 10 is full of Robin-loving-crack. All the generations of Robin (minus Steph? Que?) Get together for a brotherly row. It's brilliant that Tim and Damian argue as legitimate brothers, they just happen to be arguing about Bat-things. It's honestly fantastic.writing on Tomasi's part and I'm really hoping this arc can.bleed into the other titles (Nightwing/Red Hood/Teen Titans) because Damian has a promise to fulfill and I would love to see some other comic book creators take a stab at how character. Especially Kyle Higgins of Nightwing. His new jumping on point for new readers, starting at issue 10, should be a great way to introduce newcomers to the latest, and most bad ass, Robin.

Unfortunately, Batman & Robin #0 didn't offer us any necessarily new insight into Damian's life as an al Ghoul before a Wayne. We learn, at best, that his childhood was crappy and deprived of anything reminiscent of an actual childhood. But we could've assumed as much.

For new readers, you learn he was trained to either kill his father or take his place, regardless of whether or not his father takes the side of The League or not... not sure it matters now that he's Robin (unless they're leading up to something Grant Morrisson isn't already touching upon in Batman, Inc.-- which I'm pretty sure he has everything under control there being Damian is basically a product of his imagination anyways), and apparently ManBats really are just everywhere. And no matter who is Robin, the Robins always end up fighting at least 1, through a multipage battle, in the sky. (Both Tim and Dick have done this as Robin, I'm assuming Jason was skipped on this. I know Steph has taken the ManBat family as Batgirl, not sure if she did as Robin).

Point is -- nothing new here. Disappointing? Maybe. Nice art. New perspective on the story, adding depth to Talia's methods if nothing else, and Damian's twisted past. I guess we can appreciate that if nothing else, right?

Joker is really screwing with Damian in this last issue (#15) of Batman & Robin. Very intense, very interesting, and a gripping read. Once again, Tomasi shows his stuff and proves he has the best grip on the Batman/Robin relationship, or at least the Bruce/Damian relationship.

Anyone else reading, or at least reading "Death of the Family"? I think the most I've gotten from what Joker is up to was from this very issue. It seems he feels the Bat-Family is a hindrance to he and Batman's relationship, so he plans on disposing of them. He also claims he knows their secrets (which has yet to be confirmed -- at least in any of the titles I've read).

Anyone know what Joker's up to who may be reading the more prominent Bat-titles such as Detective Comics or Batman?
Apparently Teen Titans and Red Hood & The Outlaws have a nice cross-title engagement as the two Former Robinsgo up against Joker.
(Though DC has yet to confirm where in the timeline of DCnU -- Post New 52 reboot -- that Tim Drake falls as a Robin/accomplice of Batman. Color me annoyed.)

With the hubby being a Bat-lover, we get all of the related titles. We don't yet have last week's comics and, I expect, will get those and this week's on Saturday.

Joker's doing enough to convince much of the Bat-fam that he does know their secrets, but it's all circumstantial evidence. He hasn't called them by their real names, but he has kidnapped and maimed family members (Batgirl's mom), dropped hints of involvement in major life events (Red Hood), and used personal items of dead friends as a form of torment (Catwoman). Even if he doesn't know their identities, he knows how to torment them. It also reads like Joker's in love with Batman.

Going by my recollection of the #0 issues, Tim falls in the order where he originally did, but he's always been Red Robin.